Bristol City are currently preparing for their 12th consecutive season in the Championship.
The Robins are the joint longest serving team in the division alongside Queen’s Park Rangers and Preston North End but were the closest to ending that record last season after reaching the Championship play-offs before falling short in a two legged semi-final against Sheffield United.
The Red Army have had six permanent managers since winning promotion back into the second tier in 2015 and are now preparing to begin life under a seventh as Gerhard Struber takes the reins at Ashton Gate after replacing Liam Manning. He guided The Red Army to the play-offs in his only full season with the club but has chosen to take on a new role at Norwich City next term.
Many will be intrigued to see who fares better out of Struber and Manning in the coming season, while they’ll also undoubtedly be many paying attention to big-spending Birmingham City and Hollywood owned Wrexham after their promotions to the Championship. With that in mind, we take a look at the predicted Championship table to see which teams are likely to get promoted and those tipped to struggle at the wrong end of the division.
1. Ipswich Town - 5/4 for promotion
The Tractor Boys are the overwhelming favourites to win promotion straight back to the Premier League under a proven manager in this division in Kieran McKenna. They spent big last term and have the makings of a very strong Championship side. | Getty Images
2. Southampton - 13/8 for promotion
The Saints are also tipped to return to the Premier League via the automatic promotion spots. They picked up just 12 points last term but have a new exciting manager in the dugout in Will Still, who has impressed in France. | Getty Images
3. Birmingham City - 15/8 for promotion
Birmingham City ran away with the League One title with a Football League record 111 points. They've since strengthened further with the signing of Kyogo Furuhashi and Demari Gray are expected to compete for back-to-back promotions. | Getty Images
4. Sheffield United - 15/8
Sheffield United were by some distance the best team to miss out on promotion last season after losing the play-off final and still have a large portion of that squad at their disposal as they target a return to the big time. | Getty Images